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  1. My final take on the "Black Panther" euphoria, has predictably congealed into cynicism. The black panther character first appeared as an antagonist to Marvel Comics' Fantastic Four in 1966. which according to some accounts, was the same year a cabal of young black militants in Oakland, California, inspired by the heroics of this character, envisioned the image of a black panther as a logo for their nascent organization. Subsequently learning that the symbol had already been adopted in 1965 by another political group from Alabama known as the Lowndes County Freedom Organization, Bobby Seal and Huey Newton perhaps made these activists an offer they couldn't refuse and - the rest is history. End of prologue. In the present, to me, the impact of the block-buster spectacle based on the black panther comic book character, boils down to 2 words: make-believe. And so begins our story... . Once upon a time, a black minority population residing in a land of broken promises, was plagued by the post traumatic stress resulting from the slavery which had robbed them of their identity. They ached for something to fill them with pride and make them believe they had self-worth. 2 Titans known as Marvel Productions and Disney Studios, got wind of this yearning, and with dollar signs in their eyes, believed they could capitalize off the situation by providing the black masses with a movie featuring make-believe characters in a make-believe country, giving a good accounting of themselves and their make-believe culture. Upon seeing the imaginary movie released by the Titans, droves of black people were captivated by what this make-believe epic made them believe. Inspired by what jumped off giant screens in theaters all over the country, black patrons left these venues feeling superior to those who had thwarted their belief in themselves. And what better way to affirm this belief than to ride the "Wakanda Forever" wave into a future where all blacks would be high achievers in a high tech environment of their own making! Meanwhile, the 2 titans of white corporate America are raking in the astronomical profits this film has generated, thanks in great part to the cash-flow from its enchanted black audience. Elsewhere, however, doubts about the redeeming value of this make-believe movie have begun to appear as dissident voices start to blaspheme it. Social media party poopers are now pricking holes in the fantasy balloon, and would you believe the post traumatic stress of slavery is developing into a multiple personality disorder? Epilogue: Believe it or not, this is what can be expected when dealing with a make-believe tale that gives rise to a belief that blacks can believe in, - if they make-believe...
    2 points
  2. I haven't seen it yet. But when I saw the trailer, my soul sank. Something felt off and didn't ring true. I wasn't as hyped as everyone else. I'm still not, even as the praise rolls in right behind the money. I will watch it soon, but the trailer turned me off a bit. Not that I didn't see the potential value in it, but it was a disturbing trailer. We'll see what I think once I get around to watching it. I'll be waiting though. I am not paying to watch it in the theater.
    2 points
  3. 2 points
  4. I think culture isn't just important to the nation it is the nation. Notice I am saying nation not country. The Black Nation has it's own culture within larger white culture. Pictures are an important part of culture. It shows what is important. So what gets made and what gets watched is important. The Black Panther is more successful because it fills a need. Just like cave painting .
    1 point
  5. Listening is a skill that doesn't come naturally or easily to most of us... Listening is about entertaining another person's ideas, a bit like trying on their coat. It's like saying to the other person: 'I may not agree with you, I might not like what you are saying, but I am going to try to understand it from your point of view. ' What Makes Us Tick pp 29-30, by Hugh Mackay .
    1 point
  6. I understand the excitement of special election wins by Democrats, Dong Jones, Conor Lamb, etc. And I see the importance of blocking the doors to more of Trump’s nepotism and political opportunists, paving the way for possible impeachment or criminal indictment; but am I unreasonable to condemn African American enthusiasm of a Democratic control of Congress that may only stall the inevitable, whatever that is?
    1 point
  7. I for one am very impressed with you profound analysis sister @Zaji. Indeed, we are all subject to the same U.S. State power machine. I wish someone would wake White folks up to that fact so they realize they are the true targets. Black folk has never been that important or powerful to target for anything except a consumerist base. But be careful sister. Are you sure you’re ready to handle the answer about to come to you. WE’RE ALL SCREWED and there is no solution in the end!! The tunnel we’re all going through opens up to a bigger tunnel. Trying to turn back to the light is a mirage. EVERYTHING WILL NOT BE ALRIGHT like our mothers told us. This is a reason I choose to be a 'crisis theorist' instead of a funtionlist because the negative far outweigh the position. Forget the "don't nobody bring me no bad news" proposition of wizard of oz's wicked witch of the north. The good news will prove to be really bad news.
    1 point
  8. Cause and effect unpredictability is the most daunting and the very issue we are dealing with now. The cause of slavery, oppression and worldwide violence against melanin rich peoples has produced so many outcomes in black collective behavior. But there is one thing, a single outcome, that we all share...we are still under the power and control of white culture. The language we speak, the clothes we wear, our way of thinking and believing. Even our way of unfolding our thoughts in discourse. I've noticed even down to the combative way talking heads behave on news stations, many melanin rich people have adopted. Whether we become a street thug drug seller or the next Oprah Winfrey, it is all within the context of white cultural practices, social norms and economics. Both strive to get their money based on THIS culture's structure. Whether legal or illegal, the control is not ours in the end. Oprah has no children. So where do we think her billion will go? I guarantee it will be white owned or white controlled organization. Like you, not at all encouraging.
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  9. Well said, sister! It’s true, human nature is as unpredictable as the human factor that kicks whenever stimulated. But there’s the possibilities of cause and effect unpredictability that merits more than just questionable expectations that can go either way. Is the wait for Black folks over? That’s yet to be seen, one thing is almost certain; the ‘now’ cause and effect is not at all encouraging.
    1 point
  10. @Kalexander2 I haven't seen the movie yet, as I wrote above. But I agree with @Delano, @Cynique and you. I think all points are valid depending on what action follows. I don't invalidate thoughts on something that can unfold in unpredictable ways. We are individual humans who react to things differently based on our perspective and life experiences. For some, this movie is an inspiration toward tangible change, and actions will follow that could have a ripple effect in time. For others, it's a pacifier meant to keep them inert. I see both sides. For me, it feels like another trick by Hollywood to keep us perpetually in hope mode, rather than action mode. There are aspects of the trailer that also ring false for me as far as black culture. I have yet to see a Hollywood film that has truly transformed white culture socially in positive, equitable, meaningful and permanent ways. I am not as drawn in by others to watch it immediately. I won't be giving a dollar to Hollywood to see this film. I stopped giving my money to Hollywood a long time ago. I will be watching it in other ways for free when the time comes. No hurry.
    1 point
  11. Snap!! But it's hardly over, the Government can't take the chance of an armed uprising from Trump's base. The man's power of persuasion over undeterred White Nationalists is dangerous to say the lease. Not to mention constant chatter of White terrorist group promoting race war.
    1 point
  12. @Delano & sister @Zaji, Black Panther, the movie, indeed, stimulated African American emotions as well as White emotions (inspired) but to what end? Seems White folks have more of something to despise and Black folk are seemingly doing nothing more than celebrating the ‘we can make believe too’ or ‘what if’ we had similar imagination. Which is not the call to action or change of thinking which ‘inspiration’ is meant to do. White folk looking at photos of Blacks hanging from trees are inspiration to lynch more or imagine a world where it’s legal and okay to kill Black folk. With the exception of some, Blacks point to the same photo and complain or uslessly die for fighting back the wrong way. Inspiration of the Black Panther Party sprung into action from empirical experience living in America. What was the ultimate plight of that movement? The NAACP was inspired observing policies aimed to permanently cement marginalization of Blacks to only end up in the State Department’s pockets. The Nation of Islam was inspired by all the above, especially power of Christianity in Government; to see Malcolm X assassinated after his inspirational pilgrimage to the Kaaba in Mecca. No way was American going to let him bring the message of true Islamic thinking to Black folk, not with the BBP, NAACP, Martin Luther King, James Baldwin, and others waking folks for their slumber. Not when it's easier to sway Honorable Elijah Muhammad who had already begun practicing ways of White folk. I apologize for being a bit long-winded here but it’s important brother @Troy be understood. White America’s effort to discourage Blacks has, for the most part, worked. The movie does nothing more than give Blacks some quality family time at the theater, a box of popcorn, and a sense of false pride based on nothing more than a usless message through moving images, while the studios make bank deposits. That’s what I think the brother is saying. I invite him to correct me if I’m wrong. Where pure simplicity is a form of complete excellence I am always suspicious of the one-size fits all rationale. That the inspiration of art, ideas makes beauty of the ‘intangible’ and of intellectual importance. That unless you know the fountain-of-youth is, make sure you have a valid passport and some cash handy.
    1 point
  13. It's make believe that's making people believe. Does the intangible nature of music make it unimportant. BP is not important to the previous posters . That doesn't invalidate or even undermine it's importance to others. Intangibles are the source of much inspiration. The Wakandan muse is silent for those who have no need for it to speak to them. WF or WTF BP wasn't a member of the Fantastic Four he fought them. Also Lowndes County is in Alabama.
    1 point
  14. Did the Black Panther inspire the BPP I don't know. But it did predate the BPP. They are two separate issues.
    1 point
  15. Black Panther will prove to be what it is a movie, of no more significance to Black people than the Thor franchise is to white people.
    1 point
  16. Yes, brother @Delano, be that as it may but dates, in this instance, are barely proof that the Black Panther movement was actually inspired by the comic book, it can support your theory, but inconclusively. To know for sure one would have to ask the founders. Moreover, the word black panther is a common term. Hence, common words, terms, and phases cannot be copyrighted, trademarked or owned by anyone, thus, would not require permission to use. Your argument may be correct as an assessment but not definitive or a conclusive fact. I applaud your persistence in shifting through the data for a truth though. Ever wonder why the original IBM Corp. couldn't copyright the word 'computer'? Because the abacus was the original computer, acknowledged and used worldwide. If it could Africa could sue every school library and person who ever used the words black panther as could Egyptians for use of the word abacus.
    1 point
  17. Damn Ben Carson, that's the biggest pile of shoveling I've heard in the past two hours! Is that what Carson tells those Black folk living in NYC projects getting meals in boxes replacing food stamps that barely fill a cup; their hunger is in their minds. and living conditions is an imagination? That brother should shoot himself. Though I understand (if not approve) his selfish, greedy soul for sell the highest bidder, giving-up the fight and pulling his pants down for reception. A damn heart or neurosurgeon complacent toward human life. I see why trump made him Secretary of HUD. Just imagine BC in the oval office!
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  18. Well outlined senario and reasonable summation of facts even I was unaware, stand corrected. What I wonder is ‘will “Black Panther” prove a mixed distraction, poison pill of sorts that sway the Black conversation?
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  19. Everybody getting paid off this movie but Black folks and we running around correcting each other on how to properly do the wakanda salute (lower case "w" is deliberate).
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  20. I added this press release to support what @Cynique wrote . Black Panther was just an in to get us to spend $1.5 trillion that we beg borrow and steal to spend - because we surely haven't amassed that fortune in our community.. Economist say by 2053 if we continue to trend - black wealth will be 0.. right now it's >1 percent.
    1 point
  21. @MAFOOMBAY it seems as if you still do - much of what you've written here is what I would use in an syllogism to support choice.
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  22. I used to believe it was a choice but now I've come to realize that there are too many outside factors that influence us. The nature/nurture argument is real and as a result, are we really making a decision or is it our instinct and learning directing our path? Between 'triggers' alerting our sub-conscious and our innate survival instinct, a 'choice' sometimes is just a fulfillment to survive - hence escapism. We need to better learn how to control our control-ables i.e what we eat, read, experience, etc. and through those methods extend our breaking point threshold or destroy it all together. But what's ironic, the more you learn and experience, especially from a Black perspective, you may decrease or become numb to triggers that affect your psyche but that light at the end of the tunnel gets smaller and smaller...
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  23. Re: this sentiment It's a choice. And it absolutely explains why some in the black community choose escapism.
    1 point
  24. Lexus' Genius Product Placement in Marvel's Black Panther Movie Highlights Growing Influence of African Americans' Buying Power ROCKVILLE, Md., March 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- African Americans continue to have a supersized influence on the U.S. economy. By 2020 African Americans are projected to have a buying power of $1.5 trillion with a cumulative growth of 16% and a compound annual growth rate of 3% from 2015-2020, according to market research firm Packaged Facts in the report African-Americans: Demographic and Consumer Spending Trends, 10th Edition. Skeptics about the cohort's financial clout have to look no further than the recent success of the 2018 blockbuster Marvel superhero movie Black Panther, which has enjoyed record shattering returns and which to date has grossed more than $900 million globally. The film was a surefire success almost from its creative inception and official announcement four years ago as the news sent a simmering excitement through a black community starved for more minority representation in comic book movies. While Disney's Marvel Studios cheered the film's success, so too did car maker Lexus. Movie goers got a look at Lexus' new luxury LC coupe which is featured prominently in a major chase scene through the streets of South Korea. The scene marked two years of collaboration between Lexus and Marvel Studios. Packaged Facts' research revealed that product placement in movies and television shows resonates with African-American consumers. For example, black consumers are more likely to remember the brand name product characters use in a movie and try products they have never tried before that they have seen in a movie. Seeing a product used in a movie is also more likely to reassure black consumers that the product is a good one. Furthermore, when African-American consumers are online or in a store and see a brand name product they recognize from a movie, they are more likely to buy it than its competitor. Car manufacturers featuring their vehicles in comic book movies isn't anything new. However, as AutoNews.com states in an article, Lexus' multicultural marketing agency, Walton Isaacson, openly admits that the idea to for collaboration and product placement in Black Panther represented an opportunity to link the car maker with a cultural event. In addition to the product placement in film, Lexus leading up to the Black Panther release commissioned an original graphic novel, Black Panther: Soul of a Machine, featuring the LC 500 and a Lexus takumimaster craftsman as heroes. And don't forget the Black Panther-themed Super Bowl ad for Lexus. In the end it proved to be a shrewd strategy for Lexus. AutoNews.com reveals that there was "an explosion" of ad impressions across TV, social media, and in theater due to the film and the product tie-in. Further, in the week following Black Panther's domestic premiere on February 16, online searches for Lexus at shopping site Autotrader were up 15% from the previous week. Likewise, Autotrader revealed that online traffic for the LC 500 specifically was up 10%. It's impossible to say how many of these searches were performed by African Americans, However, based on Packaged Facts' previously referenced research on the impact of product placement on African Americans combined with the fact that Lexus is already popular with minority consumers, it's fair to deduce at least a portion of the searches were by black shoppers. Packaged Facts' data also revealed that African Americans are among the biggest car buyers in America. Between 2012 and 2015 spending by African-American consumers on new cars and trucks increased from $13 billion to $20 billion. Further, the 51% increase in spending by black households on new automotive vehicles significantly outpaced the 27% increase registered by other households. But it's not just new cars that get lots of love. Spending by African-Americans on used cars and trucks grew more than twice as fast as comparable expenditures by other consumers. About the Report African-Americans: Demographic and Consumer Spending Trends, 10th Edition analyzes recent consumer spending and demographic trends for the African-American population in the United States. View additional information about the report, including purchase options, the abstract, table of contents, and related reports at Packaged Facts' website: https://www.packagedfacts.com/African-Americans-Demographic-10293172/. About Packaged Facts Packaged Facts, a division of MarketResearch.com, publishes market intelligence on a wide range of consumer market topics, including consumer demographics and shopper insights, consumer financial products and services, consumer goods and retailing, consumer packaged goods, and pet products and services. Packaged Facts also offers a full range of custom research services. For more essential insights from Packaged Facts be sure to follow us on Twitter and Google+. For infographics, tables, charts and other visuals, follow Packaged Facts on Pinterest. Please link any media references to our reports or data to https://www.packagedfacts.com/. Press Contact: Daniel Granderson 240.747.3000 dgranderson@marketresearch.com View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lexus-genius-product-placement-in-marvels-black-panther-movie-highlights-growing-influence-of-african-americans-buying-power-300611592.html SOURCE Packaged Facts
    1 point
  25. Supporting this movie is first and foremost putting money in the hands of the white film industry. None of the prosperity spawned by a fantasy movie based on comic book characters is going to trickle down to blacks. Since the country where it takes place is Africa, not America and since the people in it, with the superficial exception of having similar skin tones, do not come across as black Americans, then what redeeming value does it really have? This movie should be labeled for what it is. A money-making escapist film which, while entertaining, has no relevance when it comes to reality.
    1 point
  26. For me, I've learned to never fault someone for their fate (decision) - for reaching their breaking point; I'm just thankful that I haven't reached mine...
    1 point
  27. I'm not sure about Australia but I've read a lot of news articles about the chinese owned corporations setting up factories in Kenya and other parts the continent that are not environmentally friendly and - the Kenyan government has finally gotten around to shutting them down. So would business owners and workers count as non-government entities? Also, I don't look at chinese nationals doing landgrabs in African nations as a positive. In fact, Chinese nationals own a lot of the hotels and other properties here in the U.S. and also noted for being in bed with jared kushner for that 666 park avenue deal ... nah they need to keep wakanda anything out of their mouths - they don't do us right either...
    1 point
  28. While they are kicking Africans out of their republic? That's some stinkin' mess...
    1 point
  29. All three of these points are connected. While it's reported that europeans came armed with guns and bibles to colonize African countries - they didn't have control over their (Africans) minds. Unfortunately, many had succumbed to the ideology of the oppressor instead of powering through the adversity to succeed with their own morals of social justice, way of life and abilities intact. Just like perennials will find their way through the cracks of cement to bloom on the surface, no amount oppression can make one abandoned their morals or belief system. If it does then death is far better for those types. We of African ascent who are here in America obviously had far stronger ancestors than those whose bodies lie at the bottom of the ocean. Edit: To be clear, the story ended for those who are at the bottom of the ocean.
    1 point
  30. @Delano, I get it, a lot of people saw the film. But even the writer of the article pointed out that this film will "cannot reverse generations of negative imagery and distortion." The point you are missing and that was overlooked in the article is that first and foremost this film is a vehicle to make money. If someone did an analysis to see who will make the most money from the film this will be plain to you. Look I wish all of the ills heaped upon Black people globally would disappear as a result of this movie, but it is woefully idealistic to believe this will be the case. I'm surprised you would hold this position. Do you think this film will change 45's attitude toward "the Blacks?" Do you think Colin with get he QB job back. Do you think they will ever let more than 10 Black people into Stuyvesant HS? Do you think all the trigger happy Po-Po will stop gunning down unarmed Black people? Do you think more than a handful of Black people, if any will share proportionately in the fantastic profits generated by this film? Or will our role continue to be that of consumer; continually forking over our dough to people the owners of Disney who we have allowed to create our Mythology. You don't see Native Americans running around talking about how great Pocahontas was for the indigenous people of North America. The few that are left have more sense that we apparently have. You do realize that The Hollywood Reporter article you site, and well as all the other sources --including the NFL, is part of the same propaganda machine that made this film so fantastically popular. This material is created to get you to think exactly the why you are thinking. It is good that you visit sites like AALBC so that you are exposed to ideas not beholden to the same propaganda. that has figured out a way to both define your culture reap great financial rewards from it.
    1 point
  31. While waiting for Troy to respond to the opinion solicited by Del, these are my thoughts. The article is biased, an example of Hollywood patting itself on the back, taking credit for and earning millions from an idea whose time had come, using isolated anecdotal evidence to make a questionable point. Praise for a movie owing much of its success to exciting images, and aggrandizement of the age old conflict pitting heroes versus villains, with the heroes triumphing; a bakery dropping crumbs for hungry black folks starved for the sight of action figures who look like them. But when all the hype dies down, what is left? Black Panther is a slick film about Africa not as it was. not as it now is, nor as it will ever be. What message does this comic book production really send? What the Mother Land could've been, - but woefully is not. White supremacy flexed its ruthless muscles and overwhelmed this continent, relegating it to the ranks of losers, losers who, nonetheless. continue to inspire the romanticized adoration of the diaspora in America where generic African garb. and liberated hair with all of its synthetic extensions, have become superficial badges of a bastardized African heritage. And why is such slavish homage due to a continent whose countries were guilty of participating in the slave trade, selling its own into bondage, sending their shackled bodies across the Atlantic to a land where they would endure hardship and degradation for 4 centuries. Where was African support during the Civil Rights struggle in this country, a movement launched by leaders descended from slaves, people shedding their blood sweat and tears in a quest for freedom, achieving gains that African immigrants now waltz over to this country and benefit from. And, yes, this movie is comparable to Obama's election, an event that that was a "flash-in-the pan", one where, with help from authentic black Americans, the son of a white woman and an African immigrant was elected to the highest office in the land, even though his forefathers had not paid their dues. Furthermore, how will the success of this example of great film making actually impact on black America? Will it create better schools, decrease the black prison population, generate jobs, stop black males from shooting each other, dissipate the baby/mama culture that has destabilized the family unit? Or will it just continue to overshadow films based on true stories about heroic black people. Films like "Hidden Figures", and the ones about the Tuskegee airmen, and Supreme Court Justice, Thurgood Marshall, the other movie starring Chadwick Boseman. Where is the acclaim for the superbly-remade "Roots" saga, and the kicked to the curb Nate Turner story? What is certain is that an inevitable sequel to Black Panther will perpetuate the mania. Like "The God Father", it gives all indication of being a profitable franchise. Ka-Ching, If i sound cynical, it's because i am. But i am a voice in the wilderness when it comes to my assessment of the film. You can't argue with success, and everybody loves a winner!
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  32. That's true, but some namby-pamby people don't want to argue with windows either.
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  33. Not every body is a mamby-pamby bland person who prefers to go along to get along No. But on the flip side, it also becomes a problem when one goes OUT OF THEIR WAY to be disagreeable and combative. Pretty soon, they're looked upon as just a little obnoxious orang-u-tang who hangs around looking for trouble, lol..
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  34. Please don't say the Black Panther movie for I think you will discover that it will not change the world and make it better for Black people -- despite all the hype to the contrary. Actually, I think and predict that the Black Panther movies will do more for Black America than President Obama did.....lol. The movie...like Obama....gives HOPE and INSPIRATION. Look, ofcourse Wakanda is made up BUT it gives you an illustration of how a successful and powerful Black society could possibly look if one were to exists! And that's the beauty of it. Sometimes people have to SEE something before they can consider the possibility of it.   How else could wealth inequality be so great, or how could so many people, be so impoverished, or go without health coverage, with all the charitable people we have? There is so much poverty and lack of decent healthcare in America because Black people ALLOW this to be so! I'll probably get push back from you and Cynique (lol) about this, but it goes right back to what I've said so often. Most of the problems Black and poor people face in this nation are OUR FAULT because we haven't exercised our rights as American citizens the way we should. Black people get into office and too often just continue the same narrative as their White predecessors. More business as usual. Black people become mayor and instead of getting rid of the old city constitution and charter and making a NEW one....they keep the same one that the White founders of the city wrote up 200 years ago; and wonder why the city falls apart. Like I said, Black people operate best when we do OUR THING and make up OUR RULES. You may think this is crazy as hell, but with Obama in office and so many Black people in congress...Black men could have solved the "Broken Black Family" problem in 5 years by making POLYGAMY LEGAL in the United States instead of gay marriage. But the thought probably never even crossed their minds. White men in Utah have no problem pushing it, but Black men who INVENTED it are afraid to even mention it, lol. A fool will keep playing a game invented by someone else and WONDER why they keep losing.
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  35. Things can be common knowledge but not use. Very few people think their mind is closed. Yet few have am open mind.
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  36. After dealing with different types of people for decades I've discovered that during the course of a conversation: -There are people who stop talking and actually LISTEN to what the other conversant is saying. -And those who stop talking but instead of listening they're only waiting until the other conversant "shuts up" so they can continue running THEIR mouths.
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  37. A true culture includes your own language, your own religion or moral values, your own dietary habits, ect....... I used to think Black people in America had our own culture, but I now realize that to be more accurate what Black America has is actually a SUB-CULTURE. .....a modified form of Western culture that we were forced to carve out for ourselves to fit our needs and protect ourselves. If we hadn't, we would have been swallowed up decades if not centuries ago. But we really do need a COMPLETE culture of our own because I think it would be key to our success. It was African themed, but I think the Black Panther movies gives us a TASTE of what it would look like if Black America had it's own genuine successful culture. Although some Black people are smart enough and talented enough to find success in this society, the majority don't. I've said time and time again that Black people are the most successful when we play OUR way and by OUR OWN rules. If you look at illegal "street" venues like drugs, prostitution, and other illegal trades....Black people tend to thrive. The only thing that destroys their business operations getting arrested locked up, not poor business decisions...lol. Why? Because atleast when it comes to the street life they can make up their OWN rules without having to follow rigid guidelines, ever increasing demands for more education, and other obstacles put in their way in order to be successful.
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  38. @Delano , @Troy @Cynique The scary thing is all of you absolutely correct! How crazy is that???
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  39. To me, black American culture has always been more about what blacks want, instead of what they need. Currently, captivated by a herd mentality, blacks want to see fictional super heroes with the same color skin as theirs, comic book characters thriving in a non existent country in Africa. What they need is to get real, and become inspired by the good authentic role models who look like them and live right here in this country.
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  40. Lol..... Is this the SAME Joel Osteen who wouldn't let desperate people into his church for sanctuary when Houston was flooding out from the hurricane until he was shamed on social media into doing it? Troy But religions must expand and convert others in order to survive, so by their very nature they must try to influence others. Not only that, but I see most religions as just massive mind control programs. Infact, I'd say they are a major reason why humanity as a whole hasn't advanced more than it has so far because they LIMIT people in thought and action. Based on some scriptures they read in the Bible, most Christians thought that the Earth was flat and because of this people in Europe were afraid to sail too far away for fear of falling off the Earth. Only when they challenged this idea and eventually broke away from it did Europe begin to see a resurgence of prosperity and discovery (that led to slavery and exploitation ofcourse).
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